Gentoo penguin on blue iceberg. Cierva Cove, Antarctica. Canon 5D Mark III, 100-400mm f/5.6L IS, (400mm) 1/1600 @ f/9, ISO 400
The penguins of cartoons are often a combination of a number of the penguin species. The gentoo penguin is the one that contributes the orange feet that have come to define what a penguin’s feet should look like. Ask a child to color a penguin and you can bet the feet will be orange. The adelie penguins, in contrast, have very pale pink colored feet. However, their facial markings best define the classic penguin. Both of these species utilize floating icebergs to rest, and they will come flying out of the water and make amazing landings. This gentoo penguin, was preparing to reenter the water, and began slowly walking along the ice, using its sharp claws for traction. Both their entry into, and exit from water is somewhat reckless in appearance and often generates a smile in the observer. I took this grab shot while motoring around an iceberg in a zodiac, and took a few different focal length frames using the 100-400mm. In this case, the long lens allowed for the isolation of the bird with a colorful background.
Just curious. I was in Antarctica in January 2012 and most of the penguins had reddish penguin poop on their bellies. Did you have to clean this one up?
Nancy, the red guano is from the krill the penguins have been eating and they get pretty dirty when they are in the nesting colonies. Once at sea, they clean up spritely. This bird was very clean.
That’s nice. Many of the penguins I photographed were pretty dirty!! I loved that trip. I’m trying to get my sister to go to the Arctic next. I’m thinking of a trip with you for the Northern Lights. If I remember correctly, you do take groups of folks on trips.
Yes I do, the details can be found on my website.